Method for recycling energy from compressor outlet, and air conditioner

ABSTRACT

A method for recovering and using energy from a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor in an air conditioning system, the method including: disposing an ejector between a compressor and a condenser of an air conditioning system, the ejector including a first inlet for receiving a working fluid and a second inlet for receiving an ejection fluid; connecting the first inlet of the ejector to an outlet of the compressor; connecting an outlet of the ejector to an inlet of the condenser; and connecting the second inlet of the ejector to an evaporator of the air conditioning system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of International PatentApplication No. PCT/CN2012/073168 with an international filing date ofMar. 28, 2012, designating the United States, now pending, and furtherclaims priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No.201210048140.7 filed Feb. 28, 2012. The contents of all of theaforementioned applications, including any intervening amendmentsthereto, are incorporated herein by reference. Inquiries from the publicto applicants or assignees concerning this document or the relatedapplications should be directed to: Matthias Scholl P.C., Attn.: Dr.Matthias Scholl Esq., 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, Mass.02142.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of refrigeration and heatingventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and more particularly to an airconditioning system and a method for recovering and using a fluid froman outlet of a compressor thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Air conditioning system primarily includes a throttle valve, anevaporator, a condenser, and a compressor. The compressor, thecondenser, the throttle valve, and the evaporator are connected inseries. As a main energy-consuming component of the air conditioning,the compressor consumes the electric energy and converts the electricenergy into pressure, so that a fluid medium in the evaporator istransformed from a liquid state into a gas state, and heat energy isabsorbed. The fluid medium is pressurized by the compressor andtherefore is at high pressure and high temperature when it leaves thecompressor. The fluid medium is cooled by the condenser and istransformed from a gas state into a liquid state whereby releasing theheat energy. Different means and devices have been utilized to recoverthe heat released by the condenser but rarely have provided satisfactoryresults.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-described problems, it is one objective of theinvention to provide a method for recovering and using energy from afluid exiting an outlet of a compressor of an air conditioning system.

It is another objective of the invention to provide an air conditioningsystem.

The method and the system are capable of effectively recovering energyfrom a fluid exiting an outlet of the compressor and fully utilizing therecovered energy without additional energy consumption.

The energy consumption of the compressor of the air conditioning islargely decreased or the cooling (heating) capacity of the compressor islargely improved without increasing the power consumption.

To achieve the above objective, in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention, there is provided a method for recovering and using energyfrom a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor of an air conditioningsystem, the method comprising: disposing an ejector between a compressorand a condenser of an air conditioning system, the ejector comprising afirst inlet for receiving a working fluid and a second inlet forreceiving an ejection fluid; connecting the first inlet of the ejectorto an outlet of the compressor; connecting an outlet of the ejector toan inlet of the condenser; and connecting the second inlet of theejector to an evaporator of the air conditioning system.

In certain embodiments of the invention, a working fluid passes throughthe ejector where it is mixed with an ejection fluid from the evaporatorto form a mixed fluid, and the mixed fluid then enters the condenser.The mixed fluid has a much lower temperature and requires a much smallercooling load. The mixed fluid is cooled by the condenser and passesthrough a throttle valve to return to the evaporator, thereby forming areciprocating cycle. In the above process, the pressure energy from theoutlet of the compressor is converted into the speed energy, so that theejection fluid is sucked by the ejector. Similarly, the fluid medium isextracted out of the evaporator by the compressor, and therefore anegative pressure is produced in the evaporator, the fluid medium istransformed from a liquid state into a gas state, and the heat energy isabsorbed. Thus, the load carrying capacity of the compressor is largelyimproved without increasing the electricity consumption, or theelectricity consumption of the compressor is largely decreased under aconstant load.

In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the compressor is connectedin parallel to a plurality of ejectors.

In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the compressor is connectedin series to a plurality of ejectors.

In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the compressor is connectedto the ejectors in a mixed connection type; and the mixed connectiontype comprises a serial connection and a parallel connection.

In a class of this embodiment, the second inlet of the ejector forreceiving the ejection fluid is connected to one or more evaporators.

In a class of this embodiment, the outlet of the ejector is providedwith a four-way valve, and the four-way valve is connected to thecondenser and the evaporator.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided anair conditioning system. The air conditioning system comprises: acompressor, the compressor comprising an outlet; an ejector, the ejectorcomprising: a first inlet for receiving a working fluid, a second inletfor receiving an ejection fluid, and an outlet; a condenser, thecondenser comprising an inlet, and an outlet; and an evaporator, theevaporator comprising an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet. Theejector is disposed between the compressor and the condenser. The outletof the compressor is connected to the first inlet of the ejector forreceiving the working fluid. The outlet of the ejector is connected tothe inlet of the condenser. The outlet of the condenser is connected toan inlet of the evaporator. The first outlet of the evaporator isconnected to the second inlet of the ejector for receiving the ejectionfluid and the second outlet of the evaporator is connected to thecompressor.

Advantages according to embodiments of the invention are summarized asfollows: the efficiency of the air conditioning system of the inventionis increased by above 30%. Under the same electricity consumption, theheating or cooling capacity of the air conditioning system is largelyimproved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described hereinbelow with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a structure diagram of an air conditioning system inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a structure diagram of an ejector in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a structure diagram of an air conditioning system inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, the following reference numbers are used: 1.Compressor; 2. Ejector; 3. Condenser; 4. Gas-water separator; 5. Firstthrottle valve; 5′. Second throttle valve; 6. First evaporator; and 6′.Second evaporator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

For further illustrating the invention, experiments detailing an airconditioning system and a method for recovering and using energy from anoutlet of a compressor thereof are described below. It should be notedthat the following examples are intended to describe and not to limitthe invention.

It should be noted that “upper” and “lower” positions in the followingdescription indicate an upper direction and lower direction in thedrawings, respectively; and “inner” or “outer” position indicates adirection facing towards or away from the drawings or a geometric centerof a specific component in the drawings.

EXAMPLE 1

As shown in FIG. 2, an ejector 2 comprises: an ejecting section α, amixing section β, and a diffusing pressurizing section γ. A left sideshowing in FIG. 2 is an inlet b of the ejector functioning as an inletend of a working fluid, a right side showing in FIG. 2 is an outlet c ofthe ejector functioning as an outlet end of a mixed fluid, and a lowerside is an ejection fluid inlet n of the ejector functioning as an inletend b of an ejection fluid. As shown in FIG. 1, an outlet a of thecompressor 1 is connected to the inlet b of the ejector 2 to enable ahigh pressure high temperature fluid medium flowing out of the outlet aof the compressor 1 to enter the inlet b of the ejector 2 and become theworking fluid of the ejector. The outlet c of the ejector 2 is connectedto an inlet d of the condenser 3 of the air conditioning system so thatthe working fluid and an ejection fluid after mixing, diffusing, andpressurizing enter the condenser 3 via the inlet d thereof. An outlet eof the condenser 3 is connected to an inlet f of a gas-liquid separator4 of the air conditioning system, the fluid medium after filtrationflows out of an outlet g of the gas-liquid separator and enters an inleth of a throttle valve of the air conditioning system. The fluid mediumafter throttling flows from an outlet i of the throttle valve 5 andenters the evaporator 6 of the air conditioning system. As shown in FIG.1, the fluid medium enters the evaporator 6 via an inlet j thereof,flows out the evaporator via a first outlet k and a second outlet 1thereof after vaporization and heat absorption in the evaporator, andthereafter enters the compressor via an inlet m and the ejector via theejection fluid inlet n. Thus, a reciprocating cycle is formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioning system is formed by thecompressor, the ejector, the condenser, the gas-liquid separator, thethrottle valve, and the evaporator. Working process of the airconditioning system is as follows: the high temperature high pressurefluid medium functioning as the working fluid flows out of the outlet ofthe compressor, passes through the ejector where the fluid medium ismixed with the ejection fluid from the evaporator, and enters thecondenser. A mixed fluid has a much lower temperature and requires amuch smaller cooling load. The mixed fluid is cooled by the condenser,passes through the throttle valve, and returns to the evaporator,thereby forming a reciprocating cycle. In this process, the pressure atthe outlet of the compressor is converted into the speed energy, so thatthe ejection fluid is sucked under the work of the ejector, the functionof which is the same as that the fluid medium is extracted by theevaporator. Thus, a negative pressure is produced in the evaporator, andthe fluid medium is converted from the liquid state into the gas state,and the heat energy is absorbed. In the above process, the pressureenergy from the outlet of the compressor is converted into the speedenergy, so that the ejection fluid is sucked by the ejector. Similarly,the fluid medium is extracted out of the evaporator by the compressor,and therefore a negative pressure is produced in the evaporator, thefluid medium is transformed from a liquid state into a gas state, andheat energy is absorbed. Thus, the load carrying capacity of thecompressor is largely improved in the absence of increasing theelectricity consumption, or the electricity consumption of thecompressor is largely decreased under a constant load.

EXAMPLE 2

As shown in FIG. 3, an outlet a of the compressor in FIG. 1 is connectedto an inlet b of an ejector 2, a structure of which is shown in FIG. 2,to enable a high pressure high temperature fluid medium at the outlet aof the compressor to become a working fluid of the ejector and to enterthe ejector via the inlet b thereof. An outlet c of the ejector 2 isconnected to an inlet d of the condenser 3 of the air conditioningsystem, the working fluid and an ejection fluid are mixed, diffused, andpressurized in the ejector 2, and a mixed fluid enters the condenser 3via the inlet d thereof. An outlet e of the condenser 3 is connected toan inlet f of a gas-liquid separator 4 of the air conditioning system.The fluid medium after filtration flows out of an outlet g of thegas-liquid separator 4 and enters a first throttle valve 5 and a secondthrottle valve 5′ via an inlet h and an inlet h′, respectively. One pathof the fluid medium after throttling flows out of an outlet i of thefirst throttle valve 5 and enters an inlet j of a first evaporator 6,while the other path of the fluid medium after throttling flows out ofan outlet i′ of the second throttle valve 5′ and enters an inlet j′ of asecond evaporator 6′. As shown in FIG. 3, the two paths of fluid mediumafter vaporization and heat absorption flow out of the first evaporator6 and the second evaporator 6′ via an outlet k and an outlet k′,respectively, and simultaneously enter the compressor 1 via the inlet mthereof and the ejector 2 via the ejector inlet n, respectively. Thus, areciprocating cycle is formed.

The air conditioning system is further provided with a four-way valve atthe outlet of the ejector. The four-way valve communicates with thecondenser and the evaporator, respectively (not shown in the figures),so that the outlet of the ejector communicates with the evaporator (inthe heating condition, the evaporator functions as a condenser) toexchange functions of the condenser and the evaporator, therebyrealizing the heating.

The air conditioning system of the invention largely increases the loadcarrying capacity of the compressor in the absence of increasing theelectricity consumption, or largely decreases the electricityconsumption of the compressor decreased under a constant load.

For simplicity, those falling in the prior art are omitted in thespecification.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the invention inits broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for recovering and using energyfrom a fluid exiting an outlet of a compressor in an air conditioningsystem, the method comprising: a) disposing an ejector between acompressor and a condenser of an air conditioning system, the ejectorcomprising a first inlet for receiving a working fluid and a secondinlet for receiving an ejection fluid; b) connecting the first inlet ofthe ejector to an outlet of the compressor; c) connecting an outlet ofthe ejector to an inlet of the condenser; and d) connecting the secondinlet of the ejector to an evaporator of the air conditioning system. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the compressor is connectedin parallel to a plurality of ejectors.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the outlet of the compressor is connected in series to aplurality of ejectors.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet ofthe compressor is connected to the ejectors in a mixed connection type;and the mixed connection type comprises a serial connection and aparallel connection.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second inletof the ejector for receiving an ejection fluid is connected to one ormore evaporators.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the outlet of theejector is provided with a four-way valve, and the four-way valve isconnected to the condenser and the evaporator.
 7. An air conditioningsystem, comprising: a) a compressor, the compressor comprising anoutlet; b) an ejector, the ejector comprising: a first inlet forreceiving a working fluid, a second inlet for receiving an ejectionfluid, and an outlet; c) a condenser, the condenser comprising an inlet,and an outlet; and d) an evaporator, the evaporator comprising an inlet,a first outlet, and a second outlet; wherein the ejector is disposedbetween the compressor and the condenser; the outlet of the compressoris connected to the first inlet of the ejector for receiving the workingfluid; the outlet of the ejector is connected to the inlet of thecondenser; the outlet of the condenser is connected to an inlet of theevaporator; and the first outlet of the evaporator is connected to thesecond inlet of the ejector for receiving the ejection fluid and thesecond outlet of the evaporator is connected to the compressor.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the second inlet of the ejector for receivingan ejection fluid is connected to one or more evaporators.
 9. The systemof claim 7, wherein the outlet of the ejector is provided with afour-way valve; and the four-way valve is connected to the condenser andthe evaporator.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the outlet of thecompressor is connected to a plurality of the ejectors in series, inparallel, or both in series and in parallel.